Speaker challenges Lincoln students

Under the direction of Michelle Gamblin-Green, the Lincoln University Choir sings "Cert'nly Lord, Cert'nly Lord" during convocation ceremonies Thursday in Robert and Charlene Mitchell Auditorium.
Under the direction of Michelle Gamblin-Green, the Lincoln University Choir sings "Cert'nly Lord, Cert'nly Lord" during convocation ceremonies Thursday in Robert and Charlene Mitchell Auditorium.

Jerome Offord, Lincoln University's head librarian and interim provost, gave this year's freshman class some homework Thursday morning: Concentrate on learning, so they can graduate in May 2016 - LU's 150th anniversary.

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Jimmy Cook and Alan Jett show off their Hog spirited tattoos.

"Your class will witness this monumental celebration at LU, and your homework assignment is to be prepared, cleared and appropriately dressed for the May 2016 commencement," Offord said. "Your walking across the stage in 2016 will prove to the world that the soldiers of the 62nd and 65th Colored Infantries' dream for our beloved institution is still relevant."

Offord recalled coming home from school when he was 8, and "my grandpa would say, "Boy, get your lessons.' I was thinking that my grandpa was very strict when it came to homework."

"All the time I thought my grandfather was stalking me about my homework - in actuality, he was learning to read and write as I learned it as a child."